Head of the Research Unit “Type 1 Diabetes Immunology” (TDI) & Professor of Immunomodulation at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (LMU), Division of Clinical Pharmacology
Prof. Dr. Phil. Nat. Carolin Daniel
“The core of my research is the role of regulatory T cells in the development and progression of autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes. We investigate key molecular mechanisms underlying regulatory T cell impairments in autoimmunity, as well as the heterogeneity, plasticity and functional specialization of regulatory T cells in metabolic tissues of diabetes. The overall goal of these studies is the future context-specific manipulation of regulatory T cells in (autoimmune) diabetes.”
Academic Career and Research Areas
Carolin Daniel's scientific career focused early on immunology, with a particular focus on the immunology of diabetes. She conducted her PhD within the DFG Research Training Group at the University of Frankfurt and at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. With a Leopoldina fellowship she completed her postdoc on "Immune tolerance of type 1 diabetes" in the field of immunology in the laboratory of Prof. Harald von Boehmer, Harvard Medical School, Boston/USA.
Within the framework of a Leopoldina returnee fellowship, she returned to Germany in March 2012 and established her own research group on "Immunology of Type 1 Diabetes" with a focus on immune tolerance at the Helmholtz Diabetes Center Munich (Institute of Diabetes Research, Director Professor Anette-G. Ziegler) by means of a Helmholtz junior research group. The junior research group at the Helmholtz Diabetes Center was successfully evaluated internationally at the end of 2016 and consolidated as an independent research group. Based on funding of a W2 Professorship Grant from the Excellence Program for Outstanding Female Scientists (Helmholtz Association) in June 2019, Carolin Daniel accepted the professorship of Immunomodulation (Clinical Pharmacology/Immunopharmacology) as part of the joint appointment by LMU and Helmholtz Zentrum München. Since October 2022, she has headed the independent Research Unit "Type 1 Diabetes Immunology" (TDI).
In addition, Carolin Daniel is involved in various functions in numerous initiatives and networks, including:
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Head of the Type 1 Diabetes Academy of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD)
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Co-Spokesperson (LMU) of Collaborative Research Center TRR 355 “Heterogeneity and functional specialization of regulatory T cells in distinct microenvironments”
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Spokesperson of the International Helmholtz Research School for Diabetes (HRD)
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Coordinator of the Helmholtz Munich Immunology Cross-Topic Activity
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Co-organizer of the Helmholtz Diabetes Center Seminar Series
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Board member of the SFB1054 of the German Research Foundation (DFG) "Control and Plasticity of Cell-Fate Decisions in the Immune System" at LMU Munich
Fields of Work and Expertise
Immune System Immune Tolerance Immune Modulation Autoimmunity Type 1 Diabetes Regulatory T cells Antigen-Specific Regulatory T Cells Tissue-Specific Regulatory T Cells microRNAS
Professional Background
Head of the Research Unit "Type 1 Diabetes Immunology" (TDI).
Professor of Immunomodulation at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich, LMU Munich Hospital, Department of Clinical Pharmacology.
Head of the Research Group "Immune Tolerance in Diabetes" at the Institute of Diabetes Research, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany.
Head of the Independent Junior Research Group "Immune Tolerance in Type 1 Diabetes" at the Institute of Diabetes Research, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany.
Research Fellow in Microbiology and Immunobiology at Harvard Medical School (Prof. Dr. Harald von Boehmer), Boston, USA.
Post-Doc at Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Department of Cancer Immunology and Aids, Boston, USA (Prof. Dr. Harald von Boehmer).
Post-Doc at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Institute of Pharmacology/Immunopharmacology (Prof. Dr. Josef Pfeilschifter).
Honors and Awards (Selection)
- 2025 Werner Creutzfeldt Prize for outstanding contributions to the pathophysiology and treatment of diabetes mellitus
- 2021 Isil Berat Barlan Award for Outstanding Women Scientists in Immunology
- 2021 Member of AcademiaNet nominated by the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers
- 2021 Ferdinand Bertram Award of the German Diabetes Society (DDG)
- 2021 Research Prize 2021 of the Heinz-Bürger-Büsing Foundation for research in diabetes
- 2020 Early Career Research Prize in Vaccinology R&D from the International Union of Immunology Societies (IUIS) and Vaccines Europe
- 2019 Nils-Ilja Richter Prize of the German Society for Autoimmune Diseases (DGfAE)
- 2018 Georges Köhler Prize of the German Society for Immunology (DGfI)
- 2017 Awarded as "New leader in the field" by the Women in Metabolism/Rosie Project of the journal Cell Metabolism
- 2017 Ernst Friedrich Pfeiffer Prize of the German Diabetes Society (DDG)
- 2010 Prize for the best poster presentation, Annual Meeting of the Department for Cancer Immunology and AIDS, Boston, USA
- 2008 Fritz-Külz-Prize 2007, German Society for Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology
- 2007 Science Award of the Rhine-Main Society for Gastroenterology
